Photo by Altınay Dinç on Unsplash
Table of Contents
Running a tabletop RPG is a nerve-racking experience. As the storyteller, DM, or GM (whatever title you prefer), you’ll feel a lot of pressure to put on a good show for your players.
The pressure is even more intense when you’re new to the game or DMing in general. You’ll worry that your players will quickly become bored, or that they’ll be problematic. Planning sessions could seem like a chore that you spend hours and hours on.
Werewolf: the Apocalypse is a tabletop RPG we wish more people played. It’s got an amazing setting, cool themes, and werewolves. Can it get much better than that?
To help people ease into it, we’ve pulled together a few tips for how to run Werewolf: the Apocalypse.
A Description of Werewolf: the Apocalypse
New to the game entirely? No problem – we’ll give you a quick rundown of what it is.
In short, Werewolf: the Apocalypse is a tabletop RPG. Think something along the lines of Dungeons and Dragons or Pathfinder.
The world the game takes place in is called the World of Darkness. It’s our world as it is today, only filled with all kinds of supernatural creatures like vampires, demons, ghosts, and of course, werewolves.
In the game, werewolves are referred to as the garou. They’re getting prepared to battle to the death in the upcoming apocalypse, hence the name of the game.
Players usually play as werewolves, but this doesn’t have to be the case. There are other changing breed creatures (known as Fera), such as werecats. However, it is uncommon to play these creatures, and even more uncommon for them to travel with werewolves.
The werewolves are subdivided into fourteen tribes. Each tribe has its own advantages and disadvantages. For example, some are known for being warriors, and some are known for their technological skills.
We’ve talked about a few of the tribes in a little more detail in our post about the best Werewolf: the Apocalypse tribes if you want some additional information.
Tips for How to Run Werewolf: the Apocalypse
Learn the system.
Photo by Kyle Gregory Devaras on Unsplash
This should probably go without saying, but your priority should be to learn the system. You’ll need to be able to oversee everything that goes on in the campaign.
That means settling disputes, controlling the outcome of adventures, and creating a detailed setting for your players. All this takes an intimate understanding of the system.
It’s completely different from the systems of other popular games like D&D or Call of Cthulhu. As an example, look at the dice-rolling: players roll multiple D10’s and get successes by rolling over a certain number on each one instead of rolling a single D20.
If you can, we recommend grabbing the 20th anniversary edition of the Werewolf: the Apocalypse rulebook. It’s well-written with beautiful illustrations. Most of the time, it feels like reading a lovingly written novel, which can make learning the rules easier.
Work with your players as they build their characters.
Photo by Ashkan Forouzani on Unsplash
As your players build their characters, make sure you work with them throughout the process. If it’s easier for you, you can even have a “session zero” where you get together and create characters.
This will give you a firsthand view of what kinds of characters your players are making. Their backgrounds and traits will help serve as inspiration for the world you’ll build for them.
Furthermore, you can answer any questions players have during the process. Newer players especially might appreciate the presence of their storyteller in case they run into any difficulties.
If you can’t have a character creation session, keep in touch with your players while they make their characters. Make yourself available to assist them, and ask questions of your own.
You might as well get familiar with the character creation process, anyway. You’ll need to create NPCs – some completely unexpectedly. Making practice characters along with your players can help you become a pro at it.
Think of an overarching plot and theme.
Photo by Clay Banks on Unsplash
Next, consider the scale of the campaign. Are you hoping to do a quick one-off session, or does your group hope to do a months-long series of sessions?
In the latter case, you’ll need to have some larger story in mind that can accommodate more games. Focus on your final villain and what their goals are, then build the story around that.
Fortunately, Werewolf: the Apocalypse comes with some built-in villains you can fall back on if you’re out of ideas. Pentex, the evil corporation, is a perfect bad guy with all the nefarious resources necessary to focus on destroying the Wyld once and for all.
Perhaps even the terrifying Black Spiral Dancer tribe is planning an all-out war on a group of caerns. Or maybe vampires have been kidnapping and experimenting on werewolves, with an unknown purpose in mind…
The options are endless. Go nuts and experiment with both themes and villains.
The world is your character – not just NPCs.
Photo by Andre Benz on Unsplash
One mistake many DMs make is focusing too much on a handful of NPCs rather than the setting. When you do that, your world ends up feeling sparsely populated and boring.
Don’t get us wrong – NPCs are obviously important. They’re just not the only important thing in your campaign.
Remember, you have the entire World of Darkness at your disposal. Set the campaign anywhere you want to.
It should ideally tie into your theme. Werewolves are nature’s greatest protectors, so setting your campaign on the edge of a sprawling, oily city is a perfect way to pit nature against the corrupting influence of the Wyrm.
Plan the encounter for each session first, then work your way backwards.
Photo by Marek Szturc on Unsplash
Planning individual sessions can be insanely hard. You might be feeling like you have no idea where to begin.
First off, take a deep breath. Give yourself time. Creating sessions should be a pleasurable experience where you get to flex your creative chops, not something you dread.
If you’re not sure where to start, think about the main encounter for the session. You know how video games often have a series of bosses and story arcs you need to progress through before you reach the final boss?
Your campaign can be exactly like that. Think about the smaller story arc and encounter you want your players’ party to experience.
Then, once you’ve determined that, spiral out from there. How does this “miniboss” come into contact with the party? Where would they be? What are they doing, and how would the players learn about it?
As you answer these types of questions, the session will start to form almost automatically from the answers.
Don’t be afraid to lay down the law.
Photo by Bill Oxford on Unsplash
When you run a Werewolf: the Apocalypse campaign, you step into the shoes of the Storyteller. The World of Darkness is, for the time being, yours.
You are the arbiter of disputes. You get the final say. Your word is the law, because your words shape the bulk of the story.
No, that doesn’t mean you should become an iron-fisted Storyteller constantly pitting yourself against players. Your goal should be to work with them as a team to weave a compelling narrative – not against them. Don’t see them as people you need to thwart at every turn.
However, because it’s ultimately your story, you need to set down some boundaries. If it doesn’t fit in with your narrative, for instance, it’s okay to tell characters that they can’t play as any of the other changing breeds.
Another common stipulation DMs usually have is that the party is either all good or all bad. There’s an innate problem with having one evil member in a party of heroes or vice versa: they have almost no reason to cooperate.
The rulebook isn’t set in stone.
Photo by Mark Duffel on Unsplash
Here’s another common mistake beginning DMs make: treating rulebooks as an inarguable source of law. Obviously, the rules and system matter. You wouldn’t be really playing the game if you chose to disregard all of them at every opportunity.
But it’s perfectly fine to bend the rules here and there. Some may not fit in with your campaign.
There are some tribes, for instance, where particular backgrounds are forbidden by the rules. If a player comes up with a particularly compelling reason as to why they should have access to a specific background, though, there’s no reason you couldn’t make an exception for them.
Additionally, you can add your own rules. Maybe you pay out extra experience to players to behave a certain way in sessions, such as going above and beyond to rescue a party member from harm.
We used to have a DM that ruled they wouldn’t kill players who brought them snacks that session. We’re not saying that you should put that kind of rule into play, but do feel free to make a few of your own house rules.
Wrap Up
We hope this post helped you feel a little more comfortable with beginning your own Werewolf: the Apocalypse campaign. This game is tremendously rewarding and underrated. We’d love to see more people play it, because the World of Darkness is such an intricate place.
Whether you’re playing Vampire: the Masqerade, Werewolf: the Apocalypse, Changeling: the Dreaming, or any other White Wolf game, the World of Darkness is always worth a visit. Maybe you’ll stay awhile after dipping your toes into it.
Got any tips of your own about running campaigns? Drop a comment below if you have any thoughts you’d like to share.
I found an error. Under “Tips for How to Run Werewolf: the Apocalypse” in the “Learn the system” sub-section under the third paragraph it’s asserted that D6’s are used (instead of a D20 which is commonly used in D&D). This is incorrect. Werewolf: The Apocalypse, like all of the World of Darkness games, uses D10’s exclusively.
Thanks for pointing out my mistake! I’ve updated the post accordingly.